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| Sid Mobley, El Paso, TX |
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Sid Mobley was
elected to a two-year term as Region 4 vice president at the 2006
National Convention. He is a retired Chief Warrant Officer for the
U.S. Army. He joined Exchange in 1993 and served in various
leadership roles, including club president, two terms as district
president, and six terms as district director. Under his leadership,
his club achieved positive growth, earned the National Service Award
for two consecutive years, and received the Big E Award for 2004-05.
Sid is the only club president to receive the Distinguished Club
President Award for the Southwest District. He also received the
Southwest District’s Distinguished District Director Award three
years in a row. He chairs the Awards Committee and serves on the
Diversity Committee for the National Exchange Club.
Using leadership
skills learned in the military, Sid became involved with the Boy
Scouts of America, started Troop 48, served as its first
Scoutmaster, and earned several awards. He is past president of the
El Paso Wings Track Club, a summer activities youth program. He is a
member of St. Peter’s Missionary Baptist Church. Sid resides with
his wife Claresie in El Paso and has five grown children, 10
grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. |
What have you accomplished in your
first term?
Serving as the
RVP for the Rocky Mountain and Southwest districts, I have diligently worked
to unify our efforts, so that we could experience growth and better impact
our community. This has been achieved primarily through assisting the
efforts of both district boards and helping with the expansion of clubs. I
have also assisted Exchange as a whole by being the chairman of the Awards
Committee and ensuring that our clubs receive the recognition that they
deserve for all of their hard effort and community service. I have also been
privileged to travel the country and assist in training many districts and
clubs on growth and diversity.
What
insights do you have now that you didn't have two years ago?
We have to make
Exchange attractive to a variety of ages, cultures, genders, and races.
Primarily for blue-collar workers, we must develop programs and projects and
club structure that would be appealing, and get them engaged in the process.
We must demonstrate the value to business owners and the self-employed that
Exchange offers a communication and leadership workshop outside the company.
Potential leaders may polish and hone their leadership and communication
skills without endangering their livelihood as they learn these valuable
skills
What do you want to accomplish in your
second term?
I would like to increase the presence of Exchange throughout the United
States. I will work to increase the clubs in Region IV through more frequent
communication and participation in community activities and public
presentations.
What is the greatest challenge facing
clubs, and how can National help?
The greatest challenge facing clubs is obtaining younger, more diverse
members. Exchange has to reach out and communicate with the younger
generations. The “baby boomers” were raised with a sense of community
service, of giving back. Our younger, more diverse generation wants to be
involved in the community, but within a different model. Exchange has to
step out of its comfort zone and work into more needy areas, reach out
to the potential leaders in these areas, and mentor them into Exchange
leaders.
What should members of the board do for
growth?
There are four
areas that board members can focus on to maximize our efforts to grow
Exchange. First, identifying a diverse pool of natural leaders, whether in
Exchange or not, engage them in our clubs, and mentoring them as our future
organizational leaders. Second, developing logical partners in our regions
and building relationships that can be extended to our local clubs. Next, we
should join a Chamber of Commerce to be exposed to diverse groups and the
issues they face. This would allow us to develop programs and projects to
meet their needs. Last, we should strive to become the best speakers
possible, allowing us to better communicate the Exchange message.
How can we develop the next generation
of leadership?
By developing
volunteer leadership opportunities that are short-term and almost guaranteed
to succeed, we will build the confidence of young leaders to step up into
higher positions of responsibility. We then need to develop dynamic training
that identifies areas of weakness and allows the individual to advance at
their own pace and at a time that is convenient to them. This would be
achieved through the development of training for district convention as well
as web based education. By starting off small and ensuring success, we will
develop a base of future leaders that will be motivated and excited to step
up to the challenge of leading Exchange and their communities to a brighter
future.
Starting at the club level, how can we
build awareness of Exchange?
Clubs can make
the community aware of Exchange in several ways: the club can join the local
Chamber of Commerce and send different members to chamber events representing Exchange.
If an Exchangite has a business association with the chamber, a
spouse-member or retiree can attend chamber events regularly. The business
can broadcast with the chamber membership that the businessperson is a
member of Exchange as well. Clubs should make regular contact with media
representatives or better yet, enlist a media specialist to join the club.
Do not send PSAs to the media; instead send them to the club president and
have the club make contact with the local media.
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